Hair How-To: Get a Sexy, Slicked-Back Ponytail

Get your hair perfectly bump free in a few simple steps.

Most Read

Want a style that can go from day-to-night like that and is actually doable? Then you need a slicked-back ponytail. If you think you can never get your hair quite as sleek and bump-free as Beyoncé or J. Lo, allow me — and celebrity hairstylist Dominick Pucciarello — to show and tell you exactly how to score a sexy, sleek pony in no time.

1. Start with clean hair. "Applying product on top of product will leave you with a lot of build-up that won't give you a clean finished look," says Pucciarello.

2. Use a nylon and boar bristle brush to smooth strands. "Using a mini nylon and boar bristle paddle brush, gather your hair right below the crown of your head, smoothing the front and sides as you brush your hair back," he says. "The mixed bristles will help knock out any static and give you that sleek effect you're after." Jess, the hair model here, used a travel-size Mason Pearson to get the job done.

3. Smooth the sides with product. "Still holding your hair with your right hand, apply a quarter-size amount of hair gel-serum — which provides hold, but won't make your hair feel or look hard and crunchy — onto your fingertips, and then spread it all over your hair, starting a half of an inch back from your hairline to give it that wanted sheen," Pucciarello explains. Jess used Oribe Gel Sérum here.

4. Spritz on a finishing hairspray. This equals extra hold.

5. Secure your ponytail with a bungee. "Using a bungie hair tie, which has a hook on each end, insert one of the hooks into the top center of what is about to be your ponytail and wrap it around several times, linking the two hooks together when you've reached the tightness you desire," he says. "The bungee allows you to pull your hair up without transferring your ponytail to each hand as you secure it, which is ineviatably what causes bumps in your slicked-back style." Try these bungees from Ricky's.

6. Polish up your pony. "After your ponytail is secure, take a small section of hair from underneath it and wrap it around the bungee to conceal its appearance for a chic, pulled-together look," he adds.